Tassel Ridge Winery

Tassel Ridge Winery–December 2008

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Tassel Ridge Wines Make
Great Holiday Gifts

Tassel Ridge Wines are made in Leighton, Iowa and are a great gift of Iowa. The Winery has a broad selection of wines AND gift wrapping that makes your special gift look special, too. A simple sheet of colored cellophane (which is complimentary) makes a single bottle of wine spectacular. Or, choose any of many different wine bottle bags including some made of steel!!  The bags are modestly priced. If you are giving two or three bottles of wine, a wooden box with the Tassel Ridge logo will make an unforgettable gift. Our skilled tasting room staff will help you make just the right choice. 

In addition to wine, Tassel Ridge offers a wide range of chocolates, some of which are made with Tassel Ridge wine as are our Chocolate and Caramel Sauces. Ask to give them a try.  They are spectacular! We also offer wine bottle stoppers that are a colorful and economical stocking stuffer, two sizes of Tassel Ridge note cards, and economically priced wine bottle coasters for every table.

Tassel Ridge Winery is also a great place to bring your out-of-town holiday visitors. We will conduct tours when staff is available however, tours may be limited to every 30 minutes when the tasting room is extremely busy. We will be offering tasting continuously and the gift shop is always fun to browse through. 

2009 Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Passport Makes a Great Gift

A 2009 Heart of Iowa Passport makes a great gift for people interested in wine or simply interested in learning about places located around Des Moines. The Heart of Iowa Wine Trail includes fifteen wineries located within about 60 miles of Des Moines. Each winery offers a different experience, different wines, and a different and very interesting story. The Passport recipient presents his/her passport at each of the member wineries and it is stamped with that winery’s special stamp. A full passport earns the passport owner a set of two engraved Heart of Iowa Wine Trail wine glasses. As you purchase passports for folks on your gift list, get one for yourself so you, too can enjoy the pleasures of the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail wineries.

2009 Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Passport - $25.00 plus tax

Gift ideas for 2009

Wine Barrel Table

Are you looking for a spectacular gift for a special person? Check out our beautiful new table, handcrafted from a wine barrel. The staves from the front of the barrel have been removed and modified to provide a wine rack inside the barrel. The barrel includes space for storage of several wine glasses. Finally, a glass insert complete with the Tassel Ridge logo covers the table top. The workmanship is beautiful!

Our wine barrel table will provide the perfect place for wine tasting and nice conversations for people with a wine cellar. It will complement the décor in your den and provide a conversation piece at the same time. 

Wine Barrel Table - $895.00 plus tax. 

 

 

Frisian Farms Cheese

Frisian Farms cheese is made just a ½ mile south of Tassel Ridge Winery. The Bandstra Family, whose origins are Frisia in Northeast Holland, have recently started making their own Gouda and now offer both a regular and a smoked Gouda. We carry wedges that are priced at $5.00 each and one-pound wheels that are about 4 inches in diameter and priced at $18.00. The wedges must be refrigerated so we don’t ship them. The wax covered wheels are shippable. 

This cheese is really good. It makes a nice local gift because it is produced right here in Mahaska County, Iowa. We will be building two of our Wine and Food Pairing Dinners around Frisian Farms Gouda in the coming months.

 

 


Candlelight Complements
Friesian Farms Cheese

In spite of the fact that cheese is usually associated with wine, such pairings are frequently NOT very successful. One wine and cheese pairing that does work great is Candlelight and Friesian Farms cheese. The slight sweetness plus the acidity of the wine works really well with the flavor, acidity, and fat in the cheese. This is a combination that will be hard to stop enjoying.


Candlelight - $13.00 plus tax in a 750 ml bottle

 

 

 

Cooper Cooler Wine chiller

Our Wine Chiller is made for those times when you are about ready to open a bottle of white or rosé wine and you’ve forgotten to put it in the fridge to chill it down. All you have to do is to put some ice and water into the chiller, slip the bottle in and turn it on and you will have a nicely chilled bottle in about six minutes. This is the perfect gift for the wine lover who has everything.

Cooper Cooler - $90.00 plus tax

 

 

Vinturi Wine Aerator

Some red wines just taste better when they’ve had a small exposure to air. One way to aerate wine is to decant it first into a decanter. Another way is to use the new Vinturi Wine Aerator.  You pour wine through the Vinturi and directly into your glass. The Vinturi has two small holes on the side through which air is drawn as the wine flows through. The sound effects are great.  And, most importantly, the wine actually tastes different (and better in all of my tests so far) than it does straight out of the bottle. I have tried it just once on white wine and could not tell any difference but with red, the differences are detectable. The Vinturi comes with its own stand. This is nice because without the stand, you end up spilling wine on whatever surface you are using. The Vinturi is rewarding to use on your own wines and is a great gift.

Vinturi Wine Aerator - $45.00 plus tax

 

Gift Baskets Combine Wine and Food

Tassel Ridge Winery gift baskets make spectacular gifts. We offer 20 or more different gift baskets that are ready for sale. Pick the one you like and you are ready to pay for it and head for your car. Or, organize your own gift basket with items you KNOW your friend or loved one will appreciate. You can include wine, cheese, chocolate and other candy, a cutting board, Tassel Ridge Winery glasses, and maybe even a Tassel Ridge shirt or hat. We will be happy to put it all together for you so that you will be taking a gift that will be long remembered.

Prices on gift baskets start at about $35.00 plus tax

Tassel Ridge Winery Harvest Club

We are pleased to announce the formation of the Tassel Ridge Winery Harvest Club. Members receive four shipments of Tassel Ridge Wine each year in March, May, September, and November. We have picked those months because they are usually temperate enough that we can ship wine without excessive heat or cold to damage it. Each shipment contains two bottles of wine which are priced at retail plus shipping unless club members pick up their shipments at the Winery. In that case, there is no shipping charge. The average price of each shipment including shipping is $45.

We offer two wine preferences:

Re-orders of full case quantities of the Harvest Club selections are always priced at retail less 20% when orders are placed within 60 days of the original shipment.

Harvest Club members have the first opportunity to purchase limited edition wines before they are offered to the public. They are also offered special tasting opportunities when they visit the Winery. In the future, we plan to have Harvest Club Members only wine and food pairing dinners, special tastings with the wine maker, and opportunities to see how wine is made. All of this is designed to make the experience of consuming Tassel Ridge Wines especially enjoyable.

The Tassel Ridge Harvest Club is open to people 21 years of age and older. Shipments are paid for with a credit card that is kept on file.

This is a great way to stay up-to-date on our new wines. Because some of our wines are never sold through retailers, you may not see some of these wines unless you visit the Winery regularly or are a Harvest Club Member.

Consider a Tassel Ridge Harvest Club membership as the perfect gift for a person who enjoys wine. Call 641/672-WINE (9463) for more information.

Custom Labels are a Great Way to Recognize Success and to Celebrate an Accomplishment

Most Tassel Ridge Wines are available with custom labels that allow you to celebrate a big zero birthday, recognize a friend’s special achievement, or to thank the person who already has everything. Provide us with a photo and some guidance as to what you want on the label, and we will do the rest. We have a one case minimum (12 bottles) and a label set-up fee starting at $10. Custom labeled wine does NOT qualify for the case discount. Check our notebook of special wine labels to find ideas for your label.

Do You Want To Ship Tassel Ridge Wine Out of State?


We can now ship to the following six states (Illinois now requires a license that we don’t have):

If you’d like to have us ship wine to a state not mentioned above, please let us know and we will investigate what kinds of licenses and permits we need to ship to that state.

Interested in Pairing Specific Foods With Tassel Ridge Wines?

Are you interested in suggestions of foods that pair well with specific Tassel Ridge wines?  We’ve put some suggestions on our web site under Recipes and Food Pairing Suggestions.  You can link directly to this page at www.tasselridge.com/recipes.htm.

Last Call on Wines About to Run Out

We are nearly sold out of the following three wines:

We have small quantities of each of these wines available at the Winery on a first come, first served basis. Case discounts of 10% on twelve bottles of any of our wines apply.

Restaurants that Serve Tassel Ridge Wine

Tassel Ridge Wines in Restaurants:

You can enjoy Tassel Ridge wines with your meals at several Iowa Restaurants:

Waterfront Seafood Market Restaurants, in Clocktower Square at West University and 28th Street in West Des Moines and NOW in Ankeny just south of Tones Spices, are two of the newest additions to our list of restaurants that serve Tassel Ridge wines. Both Waterfront locations offer Candleglow White, Prelude, and Twilight. Candlelight and Prelude pair very well with shellfish, sushi, and boned fish such as tuna, swordfish, and halibut. Twilight pairs well with their steaks.    

Our Hours:

In December 2008, we are open seven days a week for tours, tasting, wine, and gift shop during the following hours:

We will stay open Christmas Eve from 9 a.m.–4 p.m. On Christmas Day we will be closed, but we will be open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday after Christmas.

Our Location:

Tassel Ridge Winery is easy to find. It is just south of State Highway 163 on 220th Street in Leighton. From Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, drive northwest on 163 to 220th Street and turn left toward Leighton. From Des Moines and Pella, drive southeast and turn right at 220th Street. Drive west on 220th about 0.7 miles from the Highway and right into the Tassel Ridge Winery parking lot. view maps

—Bob Wersen, President

Email Jody Brockway at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our e-newsletter.

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